Pop-up retail start-up Appear Here has appointed former Blackstone managing director Peter Lennon as its new head of global landlord partnerships.
Lennon will join the two-year-old start-up this month to expand Appear Here’s portfolio regionally and internationally and to beef up the landlord partnerships team.
Appear Here uses an online platform to list space in all of the UK’s major retail cities. It currently has more than 10,000 brands, including Marc Jacobs, Google, Nike, Net-A-Porter and Jamie Oliver, using the service to find space for innovative ideas and pop-ups. The company is working with 250 landlords across the UK and raised £5m at the end of last year to improve its existing technology and continue expanding.
Lennon said: “I’ve tracked Appear Here from the beginning and been impressed by its continued innovation and execution. I believe the use of bricks and mortar will continue to evolve and shorter-term leases will only become more prevalent.”
Lennon has spent the past 10 years at the real estate private equity firm Blackstone, working in the US and Europe.
Ross Bailey, the 23-year-old chief executive and founder of Appear Here, said: “I’m excited to see Peter ditch his suit and join us. Landlords are at the heart of what we do. They help us to unlock great spaces for the thousands of retailers, entrepreneurs and brands of tomorrow who are using Appear Here.
“Peter has an incredible background within the industry and like us believes in matching great spaces to the best ideas.”
